| Gerald R. Ford International Airport | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gerald R. Ford International Airport | |||
| IATA: GRR – ICAO: KGRR – FAA LID: GRR | |||
| Summary | |||
| Airport type | Public | ||
| Owner | Kent County Department of Aeronautics | ||
| Serves | Grand Rapids, Michigan | ||
| Elevation AMSL | 794 ft / 242 m | ||
| Coordinates | |||
| Website | |||
| Map | |||
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GRR
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| Runways | |||
| Direction | Length | Surface | |
| ft | m | ||
| 8R/26L | 10,000 | 3,048 | Concrete |
| 8L/26R | 5,000 | 1,524 | Concrete |
| 17/35 | 8,501 | 2,591 | Concrete |
| Statistics (2010) | |||
| Total Passengers | 2,185,924 23.4% | ||
| Aircraft movements | 87,073 0.92% | ||
| Sources: airport web site[1] and FAA[2] | |||
Gerald R. Ford International Airport (IATA: GRR, ICAO: KGRR, FAA LID: GRR) is a commercial airport located approximately 13 mi (21 km) southeast of Grand Rapids, Michigan in Cascade Township. Originally called Kent County Airport and later Kent County International Airport; in December 1999 the airport was renamed for former resident Gerald R. Ford, the 38th President of the United States. Gerald R. Ford International Airport is the largest regional commercial service airport serving the West Michigan region, and is the second largest airport in Michigan behind Detroit-Metropolitan Wayne County Airport. It offers nonstop service to major connecting airports such as Atlanta, Detroit Metro, Chicago O'Hare, Houston-Bush, Minneapolis-St. Paul, Memphis, Denver, Dallas-Fort Worth, Baltimore/Washington International Airport (BWI), Washington/DC Reagan International Airport, Orlando (both MCO and SFB) and Las Vegas. Currently the only international destination is Toronto Pearson Airport in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The airport served as a focus city for Allegiant Air until October 31, 2011. Allegiant still serves Grand Rapids but cut several flights and 2 destinations.[3] Frontier Airlines is adding new flight to Washington National starting January 4, 2012 that will occur 3 times per week. This will put Frontier in head-to-head competition with Delta Air Lines for this route until July 10, 2012 when Delta cuts all non-hub locations from Washington National.
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Grand Rapids' first airport broke ground in November 1919, four miles (6.4 km) south of downtown. This was eight years after the area witnessed its first airplane landing which was a Wright biplane at Comstock Park State Fairgrounds on September 10, 1911. The airport was operated by the Kent County Board of Supervisors.
The first regularly scheduled air service in the United States was between Grand Rapids and Detroit (actually Dearborn's Ford Airport) on a Ford-Stout monoplane named Miss Grand Rapids, which commenced July 26, 1926. The airport expanded across 44th Street in 1948, and for a time, movable gates were used to keep traffic off the runway while it was in use. Another expansion was completed in 1952, however all signs pointed to the need for a completely new facility.
In 1959, construction began on the current facility in Cascade Township, several miles east of the original location. The new airport opened November 23, 1963, and officially dedicated June 6, 1964.[4] The first scheduled flight was a United Airlines Boeing 737-200 on April 28, 1968 which arrived from Chicago O'Hare. The aircraft, registration number N9022U, was named The Jet Mainliner City of Grand Rapids.
On January 27, 1977, Kent County Airport was renamed Kent County International Airport with the opening of a U.S. Customs Bureau Office in the main terminal building.
In 1997, the new 8,500-foot (2,600 m) runway 17/35 was added to allow the airport to continue operations during the $32 million reconstruction of runway 8R/26L, completed in 2001. A passenger terminal renovation project was completed in 2000, at a cost of approximately $50 million. Runways 8R, 26L and runway 35 are all ILS-equipped.
In 2004, the airport served more than 2 million passengers for the first time in a single year.[1] In 2010, the airport broke the previous record set in 2004 with almost 2.2 million passengers served, as increase of over 23% from 2009.
Gerald R. Ford International Airport has two parallel east-west runways and one north-south runway. Along with cargo and general aviation facilities, the airport also has one passenger terminal, consisting of a two-level main terminal and two concourses, labeled A, with eight gates including A7A/A7B (note these can be referred to as plain A7, A7A and A7B are used when there are 2 airplanes at that gate at the same time as that is the only gate without a jetway)and B, with six gates.[5]
In A concourse, Delta Air Lines/Delta Connection operate out of gates A2, A5, A6, A7A, and A7B. Frontier Airlines operates out of gates A1 and A4. In the B concourse, United Airlines/United Express operate out of gates B1 and B2. American Eagle operates out of gate B3, Allegiant air out of gate B4, AirTran Airways out of gate B5, and finally ContinentalConnection and Air Canada Express out of gate B6 (Air Canada Express used to operate out of gate A3, but moved to B6). [5] All of the gates have jetways except A7A and A7B.
The main terminal contains the ticketing lobbies, three baggage claim carousels, a gift shop, food court, KidsPort play room, game room, five conference rooms, and two public business centers. Short term and long term parking are located in front of the terminal, including a new parking garage. There is a small gift shop and a restaurant inside each concourse as well. WiFi service is available at no cost to airport patrons throughout the terminal facility.
When new baggage screening regulations were introduced by the Transportation Security Administration in 2002, the airport was one of the first in the nation to conduct trials on the new screening machines.[4] Due to their size, the baggage processing areas were unable to accommodate the machines and instead, they were placed in the passenger lobby.[6] They are now placed where passengers go through security.
| Airlines | Destinations | Concourse |
|---|---|---|
| Air Canada Express operated by Air Georgian | Toronto-Pearson | B |
| AirTran Airways | Baltimore, Orlando, Tampa Seasonal: Fort Myers |
B |
| Allegiant Air | Las Vegas, Orlando-Sanford, Phoenix-Mesa, St. Petersburg-Clearwater Seasonal: Fort Lauderdale[7] |
B |
| American Eagle | Chicago-O'Hare, Dallas/Fort Worth | B |
| AmericanConnection operated by Chautauqua Airlines | Chicago-O'Hare | B |
| Delta Air Lines | Atlanta, Detroit, Minneapolis/St. Paul | A |
| Delta Connection operated by Atlantic Southeast Airlines | Detroit Seasonal: Atlanta |
A |
| Delta Connection operated by Comair | Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky, Detroit, New York-LaGuardia Seasonal: Orlando, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Washington-National [ends July 10, 2012] |
A |
| Delta Connection operated by Compass Airlines | Seasonal: Atlanta, Detroit, Minneapolis/St. Paul | A |
| Delta Connection operated by Mesaba Airlines | Detroit Seasonal: Minneapolis/St. Paul |
A |
| Delta Connection operated by Pinnacle Airlines | Atlanta, Detroit, Minneapolis/St. Paul Seasonal: Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky, Washington-National [ends July 10, 2012] |
A |
| Delta Connection operated by SkyWest Airlines | Minneapolis/St. Paul | A |
| Delta Connection operated by Shuttle America | Seasonal: Detroit, Minneapolis/St. Paul | A |
| Frontier Airlines | Denver, Washington-National | A |
| Frontier Express operated by Chautauqua Airlines | Milwaukee | A |
| United Airlines | Chicago-O'Hare Seasonal: Denver |
B |
| United Express operated by CommutAir | Cleveland | B[8] |
| United Express operated by ExpressJet Airlines | Chicago-O'Hare, Cleveland, Denver, Houston-Intercontinental, Newark | B |
| United Express operated by GoJet Airlines | Chicago-O'Hare, Denver | B |
| United Express operated by Mesa Airlines | Seasonal: Chicago-O'Hare | B |
| United Express operated by Shuttle America | Chicago-O'Hare, Denver | B |
| United Express operated by SkyWest Airlines | Chicago-O'Hare, Denver | B |
Regional flights are on the CRJ-200, CRJ-700, CRJ-900, or the ERJ-175 and ERJ-145. Mainline flights are mostly onboard A319/320 aircraft or MD80 series aircraft. Some flights to Atlanta and Minneapolis on Delta are on the DC-9-50. AirTran Airways flights are all on Boeing 717 aircraft. Air Canada Express flights are on the small 18-seat Beechcraft 1900D aircraft, and some United Express flights to Cleveland operated by CommutAir are on the Dash DH-8-200/300. United Express flights to Cleveland, Houston, and Newark are operated by CommutAir and ExpressJet Airlines currently on behalf of Continental Airlines.[9]
| Rank | City | Passengers | Carriers |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chicago-O’Hare, IL | 190,000 | American, United |
| 2 | Detroit, MI | 181,000 | Delta |
| 3 | Minneapolis, MN | 123,000 | Delta |
| 4 | Atlanta, GA | 87,000 | Delta |
| 5 | Denver, CO | 70,000 | Frontier, United |
| 6 | Baltimore, MD | 65,000 | AirTran |
| 7 | Orlando, FL | 53,000 | AirTran, Delta |
| 8 | Cleveland, OH | 41,000 | Continental |
| 9 | Cincinnati, OH | 39,000 | Delta |
| 10 | Milwaukee, WI | 37,000 | Frontier |
Delta has its 26th most departures out of Gerald R. Ford International with 26 daily departures. It is Delta's 26th most departed airport.
| Airlines | Destinations |
|---|---|
| FedEx Express | Memphis, Indianapolis |
| FedEx Feeder operated by CSA Air | Sault Ste. Marie, Traverse City, Pellston |
The airport is located at the intersection of 44th Street and Patterson Avenue. It abuts I-96 on the east, M-6 on the south, M-37 on the west, and M-11 on the north.
Metro Cab and Metro Cars provides taxi and luxury sedan service and several car rental agencies operate rental counters in the airport.
The Rapid runs the Grand Rapids Air Porter between the airport and the downtown hotels from April through October. Route 17, Woodland/Airport, travels between the airport and Woodland Mall seven days a week. Routes 5 (weekdays only) and 6 (daily service) provide service to Central Station from Woodland. From Woodland, Route 44 provides weekday only service to Rivertown Crossings Mall.
The airport has two aircraft spotter locations. There is an observation deck located on the mezzanine level of the passenger terminal building, which gives a relatively unobstructed view of the ramp area and runway 8R and 26L.
There is a viewing area, situated on Kraft Avenue north of 52nd Street. The viewing area includes picnic tables litter barrels and a portable toilet. At the viewing area, radio station 1650 AM rebroadcasts transmissions by air traffic controllers, pilots, and GFIA airfield operations staff.